


Children are Short(s)

by LouieRambles



Series: The Things Children Say and Do [2]
Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2020-06-30 09:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19849915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouieRambles/pseuds/LouieRambles
Summary: There were a lot of things Frankenstein knew. But there were also a lot of thing that he didn't know, as he was beginning to notice. A lot of things about children - to be exact.





	1. We all Make Mistakes

**Author's Note:**

> I'd wanted to wait until I got to this point in the story before posting, but then I realized that the shorts don't really fit in anywhere. So...enjoy! ^_^

As he walked by, Frankenstein glanced down at the youngest of his charges.

M-21 was laying on the ground beside the Noblesse, happily colouring. He babbled while he dragged the crayons over the paper, telling Raizel about whatever it was he had done in school the day before. As always, the Noblesse listened with rapt attention, nodding whenever it seemed that the child wanted a reply.

Frankenstein smiled, and continued on his way down into the lab.

When he returned, the child had shifted so that he was kneeling in front of the coffee table, carefully filling in the edges of his latest masterpiece. His face was practically pressed into the paper, even as he regaled his audience with even more tales of his daily adventures. 

Seira had joined his master in his role of the silent, but captive audience. Tao had joined them as well, filling the role of the peanut gallery as he chimed in with his opinion at random intervals. And, as Frankenstein looked on, Takeo and Regis emerged from the kitchen, taking a seat with the others.

The child looked up, causing his crayon to slip into his nostril. Removing it, he went back to drawing, but crossed his eyes as he stared at the crayon.

Chuckling, Frankenstein joined the group. Tao looked up as he approached, grinning from ear to ear as he waved frantically. “Hey Boss, M was just telling us about what happened at his school yesterday! Wanna join us?”

“I’m never going to finish if you keep in-ter-rupt-ing me!” M-21 grumbled petulantly, shifting to make room for Frankenstein to sit next to him. He looked up at the scientist, grey eyes sparkling with mischief. “Tao keeps talking over me,” he complained.

“Did not!” the hacker retorted, sticking his tongue out playfully. He might have done more if Frankenstein hadn’t laughed outright. But with Seira and his master subtly joining in of M-21’s game behind Tao’s back, it was impossible.

He sat down beside M-21, a hand raised to defend himself against his youngest son’s accusations of treachery and his tossed crayons. Catching one, he gave a mock bow as he set it on the table beside the boy’s hand.

“Whatever the case may be,” he proposed, “I’m here now, so Tao won’t dare interrupt your story again.”

The child nodded solemnly, most likely unsatisfied with the justice doled out. Frankenstein couldn’t help but smile in the face of his ire.

“As I was saying,” he iterated, glancing pointedly at Tao. When nothing came, he huffed and continued. “Yesterday, Gun pushed Sehui over, and messed up her clothes and hair. When me and Gene tried to take him to Teacher Maria, he kicked Gene!”

Frankenstein frowned. Gun was the stereotypical antagonist in most of M-21’s reports. If there was anything that the boy could do to irk his fellow classmates, he would do it. 

M-21, he was often told, was the white knight to the other boy’s dragon. And, while Frankenstein would have lies to take credit for teaching the young modified human chivalry, he couldn’t. M-21 had always been chivalrous. He’d only needed someone to encourage him to accept it.

Frankenstein could and would however, take credit for turning the boy into a young gentleman. His chest swelled with pride even as he motioned for M-21 to continue his tale.

The amusement stemming from his master helped to take him down a few pegs before the boy could continue, though. Thankfully, the others were too engaged to notice.

“Tae-joon,” M-21 began, grudgingly adding ‘hyung’ to the other caretaker’s name, “fixed Sehui’s hair back for her. But you know, he forgot to give her back her booze!”

Frankenstein paused in the middle of accepting a cup of tea from Seira, so that he could stare incredulously at the child beside him. Tao, who’d been grinning as he elbowed Takeo, froze, M-21 however, continued his colouring, blissfully unaware of the confusion that his words had caused.

“M,” Tao called, chuckling wheezily. “What did you say that Mr. Kim forgot to do?” “He forgot to give Sehui back her booze.”

Frankenstein felt his temper soaring as he struggled to reign in his powers. What on _earth_ were they teaching his son in that school, for him to know about booze!?

Actually, no, scratch that. What in the name of all that was holy, was a child doing with alcohol on a school compound! A preschool compound at that!? _Somebody_ had some explaining to do.

* * *

  
“I thought that was what you said,” Tao replied, scratching his cheek nervously. He could feel Boss’s aura slipping out, tainting the atmosphere in the room with fear. It clouded his own senses, and made it harder for him to think. And, if he didn’t think fast, Boss would probably be going on a murder spree soon.

He swallowed, glancing over at Takeo. He’d read online that it was possible to send messages to other humans if he concentrated hard enough. At the time, it had sounded ludicrous. But right now, he was willing to trust anything that he’d read online, if it allowed him to call for help, without actually having to say anything!

Focusing on his comrade, Tao stared. And stared.

Takeo glanced at him, and coughed awkwardly into his fist. Okay, next person then.

Seira avoided his gaze, resolutely examining her fingernails. They were a pretty shade of blue, but that was not the point!

Sweating now, Tao glanced at Regis. The young Noble glanced back at him, but quickly averted his gaze.

Well, there went his last hope. Chewing his lip, Tao mulled over his remaining options. He’d almost come up with a solution when -

“What is 'booze’?”

All eyes turned to the Noblesse.

M-21 however, frowned. He dropped his crayon and grabbed some of his hair, pulling it up into a ponytail. “Y'know,” he explained, “hair booze? Like those that some of the girls in my group wear? Sehui always has a lot of them in her hair. Her mommy says that it’s because she likes them.”

Raizel nodded. “I understand.” He put his teacup down and crossed his arms thoughtfully. “She was sad, when your teacher forgot to return them then?”

M-21 perked up quickly. “Yeah! And she started crying, and we didn’t know what was wrong with her! Gun was the one who r'memembered her booze!” His hands told as much of the story as his mouth, and it was easier to see now, what he meant when he said booze.

When he was finished, Boss laughed loudly. He doubled over with the force of it, startling poor M so badly, that he dropped his crayons and scurried over to the protection of Seira’s lap. 

Boss just kept on laughing though, and okay, they were all laughing by then, so it was kinda okay.

“M-21,” Boss chuckled, once the laughter had mostly died down, “I think you meant 'bows’ .”


	2. Waking Up is Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seira knew what she was doing. That much Frankenstein was certain of.

M-21 wasn’t a morning person, Frankenstein had noticed. 

Within a few days of taking in the child, he’d discovered all of the places in which the child could go back to sleep after he’d been woken up for the new day. It was a lot.

Under the beds, his desk, and the dining table. On top of the dining table. On top of the refrigerator (how the child had managed _that_ remained a mystery). _Behind_ his bed. Behind the stove. On the toilet, in the bathtub, and underneath the sink. Inside closets, and the chests of drawers – Frankenstein would never be finished if he had to list all of them.

He’d been at his wits end when he’d decided, against his better judgement, to give the boy just a _little_ bit of his coffee one morning. It hadn’t been worth the hyperactivity, nor the bout of sickness that had followed.

Needless to say, he’d never done it again.

_____________

Takeo hated being put on ‘wake-up duty’.

Not that he hated having to _wake_ M-21, it was just…he absolutely loathed having to endure that pitiful whining whenever he forced his young comrade to stand on his feet. It made him feel as if he was the worst person on the face of the planet. 

No matter how much he hardened his heart to it every morning, it always got to him. And he always wound up letting the boy return to his bed, for just a few minutes longer…

_____________

Tao didn’t really have a problem with being the one to wake up M-21.

A little tickle here, and another one there, and the young werewolf would be awake. The only problem was that those awakenings usually ended with having to make the mad dash to the bathroom in order to avoid the ‘accident’ that usually followed.

More than once, he’d gotten carried away with the tickling, and wound up with not having enough time to get M-21 to the bathroom before he wet his pants. 

_Those_ times usually resulted in grumpy M-21. And _no one_ wanted to be around a grumpy M-21.

_____________

Regis would never stoop so low as to say that he would rather avoid undertaking any task that had been assigned to him. 

Rousing M-21 from sleep however, was one task that almost drove him to running away from his duties. It was a nigh insurmountable undertaking that required more patience than he had been blessed with, as much as he was loathe to admit it.

_Any_ task that required a person to repeat the same action at least seventeen times before _any_ progress could be made needed more patience than Regis had been blessed with.

_____________

Raizel didn’t understand Frankenstein’s disinclination when it came to ensuring that M-21 was awakened each morning.

That is, until he’d volunteered to shoulder the herculean responsibility.

At first, he’d settled down to wait until M-21 woke of his own accord. But then, it passed the time when the child would usually join the others at the table, and the boy still hadn’t stirred.

Then he’d opted to shake the boy gently, as per Frankenstein’s direction, which had been met with sluggish acquiescence, which in turn quickly devolved into rejection of his directive.

Finally, Raizel had resorted to what Ik-han had called ‘desperate measures’.

He’d summoned a transparent bag and allowed it to fill with air. Then, sealing off the opening with his fist, he brought the other hand down on the pocket of trapped air.

The resounding pop had indeed brought M-21 out of his slumber. But it had done so at a cost. The child had wailed and had been nigh inconsolable, and Raizel had to resort to begging his faithful servant to rescuing him.

He never trifled with that responsibility again.

_____________

Seira hummed to herself as she checked the temperature of the water once more. 

It was perfect – not too cold, nor was it too hot.

Allowing the faintest of sounds to pass her lips, she dropped the plug into the tub and filled it. While she waited for that to be completed, she turned her attention to the child on her hip.

M-21 was fast asleep, one of his small fists clenching her sleeping shirt while the other occupied his mouth as he suckled at his thumb. She smiled, and gently removed it. 

As was customary, the boy grumbled, and cracked open an eyelid to peer up at her. When he did so, she tugged at his pajama top gently.

“Off,” she commanded, gingerly setting him down of the floor. She assisted him with the buttons, and provided support while he stepped out of his pants. Then she returned him to her hip and made the short trip to the toilet.

Setting him down on the seat, she gave the directive for him to relieve his body, to which he sleepily assented. Then she led him to the tub and set him in the water. Once she was sure that he would not slip under, she handed him a washcloth and sat back, instructing him with what should be done.

Each swipe of the cloth woke M-21 up a little more than the last had done. In fact, by the time he was finished, he was wide awake, and no longer needed her constant supervision.

Still, Seira remained in the bathroom to ensure that there were no mishaps. Especially as she’d carried him around more than she normally would and, as a result, he’d been a bit slower to come into awareness.

Luckily though, the only slip-up had come when M-21 had been stepping into his little undergarments. That was easily rectified and soon, she was guiding M-21 out of the bathroom and into the dining room.

The homeowner nodded approvingly as Seira helped M-21 into his seat before taking her own. The other residents of the household all stared at her with varying degrees of admiration and she brushed lock of hair behind an ear, ignoring her heavy blush. As the meal began, Tao leaned forward with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Honestly, Miss Seira,” he enthused, “you _have_ to share your secret one of these days!”

She simply smiled, and took a sip of her tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by my parents' stories of my siblings' and my own behavior, featuring my nephew!


	3. I Wouldn't Stay There...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The childish shriek of terror caught his attention and that was all Frankenstein needed to hear.  
> The ground squelched oddly beneath his loafers as he approached. M-21, the source of the scream, was still blinking owlishly, arms outstretched as if to halt the progression of something.  
> Then he sneezed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not happy with this chapter. It wanted to be written, but it didn't want to end.

Frankenstein grimaced as he eyed the entrance to the waterpark.

Inside, children and adults squealed in delight. Their ecstasy however, couldn't assuage his fears. 

Yes, M-21 had been adjusting to a normal life remarkably quickly, but there was a difference between going to the store by himself and going to an amusement park. 

He took a deep breath as he eyed the child from the corner of his eye. "You know, none of us would think any less if you if-"

"I want to go," M-21 interrupted, refusing to tear his eyes away from the gates, even for a second. The boy's left hand held onto a fistful of fabric, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he held on. His despite still being soft with youth, tore tiny holes in his slacks.

At least he'd worn his least favourite pair.

He was grateful for small mercies.

"If I don't go, then Gunn's brother will make fun of me for being a p-"

Frankenstein tightened his grip on the child's right hand slightly reprimand, having already heard what his classmate's older brother called cowards. 

"-retty big chicken," the boy finished lamely, but determined. He met his gaze dead on. "And I'm not a chicken."

Frankenstein kept up the eye contact for a few moments longer, breaking it with a chuckle. "Neither am I," he said, moving forward, the boy easily keeping up. "So, shall we join the others while we prove to Mr. Suh that we aren't cowards?"

He didn't need to look to know that M-21 was grinning in response.

* * *

The childish shriek of terror caught his attention and that was all Frankenstein needed to hear. Within seconds, he'd abandoned the snack line, returning to the waiting zone for the ride that Tao had dragged the others onto. His eyes scanned the area, trying to locate his master and the young child that had opted to remain by his side.

The gap in the crowd was easy to find. Relieved to see that the two were unharmed and together, Frankenstein approached.

The ground squelched oddly beneath his loafers and, for the first time since hearing the screams and seeking out his master and M-21, he took note of all the wet clothes around him. It was certainly odd, and a definite call for him to pause (mentally, of course) and examine the situation. 

M-21, the source of the scream, was still blinking owlishly, arms outstretched as if to halt the progression of something. Water ran in rivulets down his pale skin and dripped from his nose and eyelashes. Then he sneezed.

Once, twice, three times, before erupting into a fit of giggles.

Raizel's head snapped towards the child so quickly that it actually created enough breeze to affect the people around them.

As the other patrons shrieked at the sudden cold gust, the Noblesse summoned a delicate lace handkerchief and used it to gently dab at M-21's runny nose. The boy took it with grace for all of ten seconds before starting to squirm. And, when Raizel finally released him, he darted towards the guardrail with a delighted squeal.

Frankenstein chuckled to himself and began to cross the short distance between them. He hadn't even noticed when he'd stopped moving but, now, he wished that he'd had the sense to take a picture while he'd been stationary. 

As he neared, M-21 tilted his head back and took a deep breath. Then his head snapped in his direction, and he was off, barreling towards Frankenstein with all the speed of a human bullet.

Firmly taking hold of his pants as he smacked into his legs, the young werewolf tilted his head back and grinned up at him. Mischief danced through those grey eyes, sparking worry in Frankenstein's gut. The feeling of worry was squashed at the boy's next statement.

"Daddy, you gotta see this!" He shouted, drawing many a curious and amused glance to be tossed in their direction. "This ride looks so cool when it comes down on the water!" He then proceeded to position him 'just right' so that he could get the best view of the moment that the cars touched the water.

Frankenstein allowed it with a bemused smile, already suspecting the reason behind his ward's insistence. Still, just to be certain, he reached out to Raizel. _'It seems that the boy wants me to be drenched as well. Am I correct in this assumption, Master?"_

_'If I told you,'_ the Noblesse chuckled through their bond, _'I would be spoiling M-21's fun.'_

Frankenstein tilted his head back, catching a brief glimpse of the slight upward curve of his master's lips. A glimpse was all that he got, as M-21 was soon tugging at his pants again, demanding his attention.

_'By the way, Frankenstein...'_

He turned his attention to his master, tracking the roller coaster's cars with only a fragment of his attention. 

"...I would not stay there, if I were you."

A torrential deluge of cold water slammed into him, startling a shout out of him. The squeal that M-21 let out this time was one of delight, proving Frankenstein's suspicions.

He swept his wet bangs away from his eyes and cast a wry glance at the giggling boy. "Couldn't you warn me that that would happen?"

"Nope!"

Frankenstein chuckled as he turned, already scanning some of the other rides. If M-21 liked getting splashed from the rides so much, then he would find every single ride that was likely to splash its viewers, and take the boy to see each one. 

"Perhaps M-21 would like to ride one of them as well?" Raizel offered, startling Frankenstein from his thoughts. As soon as the words left his mouth, he pointed at one some distance away, prompting both the scientist and the werewolf to look.

Every patron that got off was soaking wet, and stained yellow. 

Frankenstein blanched. M-21 was wearing a white t-shirt, and so was he. To get yellow stains out of not one, but _two_ white shirts?

"M-master, perhaps not such a-"

"Can we get onto it Daddy," M-21 cut across him, already tugging Frankenstein into the direction of the ride. "Please? Pretty, pretty please?"

Frankenstein glanced at his master, a silent plea in his eyes. At the sight of the barely concealed mirth in his master's eyes however, he was forced to admit defeat.

"Hey Boss, M, Raizel!"

Or not.

Frankenstein turned to face the hacker, a large smile on his face. "Tao! I have the perfect ride for you to try next..."

If he couldn’t leave the park without stains, he’d certainly make sur that there would be as few stains as possible.


	4. (Not Exactly) Snowed In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't you want to go play in the snow with the other children, Milan?"
> 
> M-21 poked his head out of his nest of blankets, just long enough to give Taejoon hyung a bad look. Then he covered his head back up. " 'm gonna die if I go out there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted an excuse to write this, and the unnaturally warm nights in my region have provided the perfect excuse for me.

"Don't you want to go play in the snow with the other children, Milan?"

M-21 poked his head out of his nest of blankets, just long enough to give Taejoon hyung a bad look. Then he covered his head back up.

No, he didn't want to go out and play in the snow. He was nice and warm and dry inside, all wrapped up in blankets and sweaters and jackets and coats. 

Yeah he'd have to give them back to the teachers when it was time to go home, but that was then and this was now. He was finally warm, and he wasn't giving it up for nothing.

"Milan, come on, you might actually like the snow!"

No, he wouldn't. People _froze_ to _death_ in the snow. He'd seen it when he was with 24. They turned blue and then bits and pieces of them started falling off.

And the ice that came with snow was dan-ger-ous too. People could fall on it and crack their heads _open_. 

"Mi-"

" 'm gonna _die_ if I go out there," M-21 grumbled, intrupting Taejoon hyung. His fingers started to hurt from how much he'd been thinking about the cold. In fact, it reminded him of the time one of his fingers fell off from the cold. He found his fingers and blew on them, just to make sure that they didn't get too cold.

"No you wo-- _Milan_ , who told you that you'd die if you went out in the snow?" Taejoon hyung asked. He sounded tired, like how M-13 would sound whenever M-64 tried to frighten him. 

Or like how Takeo sounded whenever Tao stayed up all night. 

"Was it Hyun-bin? I swear, that boy-"

"My brother told me that," M-21 in-ter-rup-ted. Usually, talking about his brothers was always enough to make them leave him alone. But for some reason, Taejoon hyung wasn't having it.

He growled, low, like how Muzaka had done that time when Frankenstein tricked him. But he didn't sound mad. In fact, he sounded even more tired. And sad. And a little bit angry.

"That's it, I'm not doing this anymore," he said, breathing out in a huff. "It is a very fine day outside -even if it's a bit chilly -"

M-21 frowned. He didn't like how hyung was talking now. It almost sounded like...

"-and you are going to go outside to play with the other children and then you are all going to track so much snow and dirt inside, that I'm going to regret letting you guys go outside."

M-21 gasped, and his eyes started going wide.

No.

No, no, no! 

"Oh yes, you are going outside, Milan. I'll get you out there, even if it kills me!"

Frankenstein had said that he wasn't allowed to growl at, or bite regular humans, so M-21 couldn't snap at hyung. But he couldn't let hyung drag him outside.

And hyung would, because he sounded just like how Frankenstein did whenever it was bathtime. And there was no getting out of bathtime. It was enevytible.

M-21 bit his lip worriedly, looking all over his blanket 'coon, trying to find a way out. But he'd made it too good and now he was trapped.

"Milan..."

One of Taejoon hyung's hands got inside, and he did the only thing that he could think of. He got a big glob of spit on his tongue and licked hyung.

"Ugh, Milan!" hyung shouted, pulling his hand out of the blankets at once. "That's disgusting!"

M-21 blinked. What...just happened? He blinked again, crunching up his nose when a bit of air blew inside.

He didn't know why hyung had chosen to leave him alone, but he knew how to make hyung stop now. He smiled and closed the coon.

Maybe it would work on Frankenstein? 

* * *

Frankenstein puffed into his hands as he stepped into the preschool, breathing life back into his cold fingers. Even with several centuries and modifications under his belt, the cold still managed to worm its way into his joints and stiffen them.

Stomping his feet on the mat to rid his boots of snow, he stepped into the building proper and began making his way towards the pick-up area. 

To Frankenstein's surprise, the pick-up area was void of children and caretakers. Worry began to blossom in his chest before he firmly squashed it.

M-21 had been given several distress beacons after his kidnapping by the DA-5, courtesy of Tao. All of the beacons were simple in design and were activated even more simply. The only thing that the child needed to do to turn his beacons on was to fall back onto any of his self-soothing habits. 

So the chances of something happening quickly or efficiently enough to prevent the boy from alerting anyone were slim.

Reassured, Frankenstein ventured into the heart of the building. The first few rooms that he passed were all empty. But the faint sound of giggling had begun, prompting him to follow.

To his surprise, the sound of laughter didn't lead him to any of the classrooms. Instead, it took him to a playroom at the back; one that led into the backyard. Then again, it wasn't that surprising. It had snowed rather heavily earlier, resulting in a nice pileup of snow that enticed even high school students to frolic in the cold.

Smiling, Frankenstein poked his head into the doorway. Laughter bubbled up from his chest when he caught sight of the unsettled expressions on some of the teachers' faces. That seemed to be their default when it came to M-21.

Smiling wryly at them, he stepped into the room and gave it a brief once over. No grey haired child greeted him.

His heart sank. 

Not again. No, no, no, where was his little one? Where was his son?

A hand snaked into his quickly tunnelling vision, drawing his attention and ire. Why were these teachers so calm when M-21 was gone!?

Frankenstein turned to Mr. Choi, barely keeping hold of his dark spear. But he could feel it bubbling close to the surface, more so than it usually did. Its voices raged, as they usually did, hissing in his ears, making sweet promises at first, then devolving into venomous threats when he didn't loosen his control over them. 

They got under his skin, warming him with rage. Logical thought fled out the window, and Frankenstein just snapped. "Where is M-Milan!?" he raged, advancing on the caretaker, who stumbled backwards. "Why isn't he-"

"Here!" Mrs. Kim burst out, literally jumping in between he and the other teacher. Her eyes were widened with fear as she herself took a few steps away from Frankenstein. She tittered, holding up trembling hands."Milan is here," she continued, voice steady, even as it rose to a nervous pitch. "He is right here, safe and unharmed, in an area where we can easily monitor him. Right, Taejoon?" She glanced over her shoulder as if seeking confirmation from the man in question.

Mr. Choi, who'd moved over to a pile of blankets on the floor, nodded furiously as he practically dove into them. Almost immediately, the lanky male sprang back out, disgust etched into his features.

"Milan! Quit licking meee!" He shook off the saliva as he gazed at Frankenstein with a plea in his eyes. 

"Milan has been hiding in there all afternoon," Mrs. Kim supplied, catching his attention again. "Every time we try to get him out, he-" she broke off, gesturing at Mr. Choi - "keeps licking us." She shrugged. "But it's cold out, and we figured that since he wasn't hurting anyone by staying in there, we'd let him stay until you came."

"I see." 

And, as he began wrangling with the Dark Spear, Frankenstein found that he did see.

M-21 had endured a life of deprivation in the Union, despite the efforts made by the others in his series. There was a rather high possibility that the boy had already experienced the brutality of a winter spent in inadequate housing. That would have been enough to murder any fantasies that he might have had about the snow, had he been a regular child, from a financially stable household.

It was a reaction that Frankenstein could understand.

It was one that he could relate to, unfortunately.

He sighed and made his way over to the pile of blankets. Crouching down as low as he could, he peered inside, and was met with a wary glare. When he did nothing other than staring, the glare broke down.

"'s cold out there," the eyes whined.

Frankenstein nodded. "That it is." He folded his legs in front of himself as he sat on the floor. The action always seemed to give M-21 some sort of comfort that he couldn't parse, no mater how he tried. So he'd given up on trying to understand it, and simply accepted it for what it was. "Care to tell me why you're bundled up in there though?"

M-21 eyes took on an incredulous glint. "It's warm in here."

Frankenstein nodded again. "But it's even warmer at home." He pretended that that he hadn't heard the mutinous grumble coming from the blankets. "And we have hot apple cider at home." The blankets shifted a little, and Frankenstein had to bite back a smile. He had him now...

"...cookies?" M-21 called out, hopefully.

This time, Frankenstein did smile. He leaned forward and tugged the topmost blanket away, unsurprised to find another in its place. For how Mr. Choi had dived into them earlier, he'd suspected that there had to have been quite a few of them.

"There'll be a fresh batch of peach cobbler cookies if we leave soon."

M-21's head emerged, and he made eye contact. "With marshm'llows on top?"

A chuckle escaped Frankenstein as he scooped his boy up. The teachers, who up until that point, had been flanking him, parted for him to pass through. He made his way to the cubbies that the children used, trying to maneuver M-21 into his own jacket. Their combined body heat would keep the young werewolf warm, at least until they got home. "Don't push it," he joked.

When he was finished, M-21 poked his head out the neck of Frankenstein's jacket and gave him a cheeky grin. "Tao-hyung says that I wouldn't be me if I didn't push it."

"And Tao-hyung would be correct," Frankenstein agreed, picking up M-21's belongings from his cubby as they passed. "What say you. Should we give him a bit of hell for it when we get home?"

He looked up at the clear blue sky, not needing to look to tell that the boy was giving him yet another cheeky grin in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: as of yesterday, 1 year has passed since I started writing this little bit! ^_^


	5. Children are (Very) Short(s): Must've Done Something Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frankenstein glanced down at his basket, flabbergasted.  
> What on earth had Rael done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a very short short, just to get me back into the swing of writing stories, and not reports.

Rael raised a brow at the state of the modified child's clothes. He was fairly certain that the little rat hadn't left the Noblesse's home looking that filthy.

There was no way the homeowner would have allowed it.

The brat must have found a mud puddle to roll around in, while at his school.

A scowl made it's way across Rael's face. Because of course the stubborn little urchin would choose to ruin the clothes that the homeowner had made for him, on the day that Rael had been assigned to pick him up. Why else would-

"You are filthy," he snarled, stepping even closer to the modified human. Carefully observing the way that the boys face fell even further, Rael began to pick his way up the stairs. "Why?"

"The big boys threw me down at the park," the brat mumbled, not even looking up or moving from his spot at the top of the stairs. "And they took my ball."

Rael blinked as he stepped over the child and into the entryway of the school, looking for the book that the homeowner had told him about. He remembered the ball that the brat was referring to. 

He'd returned with it after a trip to the 'supermarket' with the other two modified humans. When the homeowner had seen it, he'd insisted that they all head out to the nearby 'park' to play with it.

Rael's frown deepened, even as he located the book. He placed his signature right next to the blocky scrawl of the modified human's name and turned around without another word or glance at the brat.

The Noblesse had seemed happy, that day. So had the mongrel, now that he thought about it. 

In fact, when compared with the sullen version that shuffled along behind Rael, the boy had been ecstatic. 

Whoever it was that had taken the brat's ball and pushed him over would pay severely. 

* * *

"Mr. Milan's daddy, Mr. Milan's daddy!"

The tiny voice startled Frankenstein, giving him little warning before a child-sized missile slammed into his legs. He teetered backwards precariously, suddenly drawn into the intricate dance of ensuring that he didn't drop the crate of eggs nor the shopping basket in his other hand. When he was certain that the only casualty would be a few pegs off of his pride, he turned his attention to the toothy grin of the very pink little girl clinging to his leg.

"Jia," he greeted warmly, maneuvering he basket so that he could pat her on the head. "How are you today?"

The little girl's grin got even wider, and she squeezed his leg even more tightly. "When's Milan's big brozzer coming to pick him up again?" She stepped back then, strangling the life out of a cloth doll that had clearly seen better days. "The one with the pretty lellow hair, like Mopsy's!"

Frankenstein blinked. Did she mean Rael? 

Jia tilted her head as a male voice called out to her. "I hafta go now. My daddy's calling me. Tell Milan I said hi-hi!" Then she skipped off, disappearing around a corner.

That was the fourth such encounter with one of M-21's classmates today, and the sixth since the weekend had begun. Frankenstein was honestly starting to get curou- _curious._ Just _what_ had Rael done to gain the attention of so many preschool children?

On his way to the cashing station, he found himself dancing around Jia again, this time accompanied by a pair of twins who were also in M-21's class. Each of the boys held of to a dirty stuffed animal, squeezing them so tightly that Frankenstein worried that they would break right then and there.

"We made this for Milan's big brover," the slightly taller twin shouted, thrusting a crumpled piece of paper at Frankenstein.

"Issa thankyou card," the other one tacked on, grabbing the sheet from his brother and shoving it into Frankenstein's basket. Then, without giving the scientist a chance to question them, all three dashed away, giggling like there would be no tomorrow.

Frankenstein glanced down at his basket, flabbergasted.

What on _earth_ had Rael done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anybody guess what Rael did?


End file.
